Jeff Richard won the battle of locally-linked rinks at the men’s curling provincials last night in Vernon.

The Kelowna team — which includes Cranbrook third Tom Shypitka — defeat Tom Buchy’s Kimberley rink 8-2 in seven ends.

The preliminary round wraps up this morning, with Richard going up against Jay Tuson of Victoria. Buchy will face Richmond’s Greg McAulay.

That will be the end of the road for Buchy, Ken McHargue, Dave Toffolo and Darren Will, as they’ve managed just one win in eight tries so far.

Shypitka’s team is in the running for a spot in the page playoff, tied for third with Bert Gretzinger at 5-3. The top four teams advance.

Earlier on Thursday, Richard had beaten Gretzinger 5-2, holding onto the hammer by blanking five ends in a row. They capped that with a deuce in the eighth and a steal of one in the ninth.

Buchy & Co. lost their morning game 9-3 to Nelson’s Fred Thomson, who scored five in the seventh and final end.

Kelowna’s Bob Ursel enters today’s action as the only undefeated team, while defending B.C. champion Sean Geall is right behind at 7-1.

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